I had heard nothing but great things about this since it came out a year ago, and there were so many things that I thought were great about this book. Damilola Blackburn's writing was so gripping, to the point where even though I struggled with the plot at times, I read this in just over a day because her pacing and storytelling pulled me through and I didn't want to stop! However, I did find myself getting frustrated at times, mainly at the characters' actions, particularly Yinka and Ola, and found I couldn't always justify their actions while they continued to make mistakes. I didn't feel that Ola's hostility towards Yinka was wholly justified, and I also didn't like the way that Yinka went about things either. I did also feel that the resolutions towards the end were a bit too neatly done, and served the purpose they felt they should rather than trying to create a really unique story.

Yinka, Where is your Huzband is a funny book that blends tradition with modernity.
Our heroine is trying to navigate adulthood while under the pressure of her family to be the type of woman they invision her to be.
It is a feel good book that I do recommend heartily!

I got married before people started to ask where is my huzband.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to avoid questions /prayers/ unsolicited advice about having a pikin (baby) from family, friends, people I know and people I don't. 😂 So... Yinka story is very relatable.

She's often compared to Bridgit Jones but in my opinion, this book is hundred times better.

It was extremely funny but also triggering. If I had this kind of family I would definitely cut them off.
Or did I? 😂

Yinka is a very loveable person and I was rooting for her from the start. I loved the relationship she had with her friends (even though it was very rocky sometimes).

"Yinka, where is your huzband?" is a heartbreaking and heart warming story at the same time. Oh and very motivating. I finally found a time and will to cook some jollof rice 😂

Definitely a good read!

A story about self-love and acceptance.

The title may suggest that this is a rom-com but it’s not – at all.

‘Yinka, Where is Your Huzband?’ follows a young British Nigerian woman, as she journeys through the difficulties of life. We join Yinka as she navigates dating, familial pressure, friendships and even, unexpected changes in her working life.

Yinka reminded me so much of Queenie at times and both characters really frustrated me with their decision-making. But it’s a comforting reminder and in reality, not everyone has their life together regardless of their age.

You will undoubtedly root for Yinka – how can you not? She clearly desperately just wants to be happy but it becomes apparent that she was still discovering what that actually means for her.

I really enjoyed the Black British references and this paid homage to South London nicely, especially surrounding Peckham etc. As always, I love cultural references and this book was filled with mentions of Nigerian culture, especially in regards to food. But I also loved how faith and Christianity was portrayed.

As someone that grew up in a Christian household and family, it was lovely to read how faith plays a part in Yinka’s decisions. And it wasn’t simply a plot point, Yinka’s faith was unwavering throughout.

Pressure seemed to be the central theme of this book.

Family pressure. Work pressure. Self-pressure. Pressure from her friends.

Yinka was at the centre of it all. Trying her best to navigate through it and find herself.

“I need to get in touch with who I really am. Not try to be the person the world wants me to be.”

The lengthy plans she would undergo to find a man-made me extremely uncomfortable but I can’t deny that was the whole point of it all. The author succeeds in making you realise that Yinka is losing control succumbing to the pressure placed upon her by her family. She becomes obsessed with finding a ‘huzband’ and slowly begins to lose herself.

I think this is a great novel to make you realise that everything happens for a reason and that God’s timing is the best timing. You can’t rush certain things and as much as Yinka was desperate to find a man to stop being criticised by her mum and aunties, it was clear she wasn’t going to find him by changing who she was.

Jealousy is an emotion that a lot of us deny having.

I think it’s normal, within certain parameters. Redirecting jealousy into something good is the key and it became clear that a lot of characters were building resentment. It was the problem within Yinka’s friendship with her cousin, Ola.

I’ve seen quite a few books about young Black women in the UK tackle issues to do with colourism. And if I’m being honest, I can understand why. Growing up in a predominantly white society has meant that racism (in all forms and genres) has been directed at Black women constantly growing up.

I enjoyed the exploration of colourism and how internalised it can be. As Yinka spiraled, the more apparent it became just how much this was hurting her. It began to navigate her actions, her emotions and how she viewed life. But then it begs the question as to whether these feelings have always been there.

Simply lurking under the surface and manifesting whenever something triggers it.

Thus, I felt like everything really did come together towards the end. I really liked it.

For those that love a fictional story about self-love, or have reached an age where there struggling to separate their family’s pressures/desires for love from their own, or simply want to find comfort in a book about a Black woman who is still figuring life out…

I realise how freeing it is to say what I think. To stand up for myself."

This is for you.

A beautiful reminder that your life will come together at the right time and never be afraid to chase what you want – regardless of what other people might think or say.

We’re all trying to figure out what we want so it’s okay to be a mess.

Contemporary romance is not my usual cup of tea. I really liked Yinka and I felt frustrated for her! I felt it could have been a bit more robust, pushed the comedy more.

When it comes to romcoms, my taste tends very strongly towards the comedy elements of any narrative. So it was the humour implicit in the title of "Yinka, Where is Your Huzband?" that made me interested in reading the book. I was, in fact, a little nervous about how stereotypical the romance part of the story might be, but I was pleasantly surprised on that count.

Yinka is an intelligent, Oxford educated, thirty-something British-Nigerian woman, who finds that the approval of her mother and aunties (something that was once easily attained through her academic prowess) is increasingly hard to come by in a situation where she remains frustratingly husband-less.

Her younger sister Kemi, who got married and is expecting her first baby, now has approval showered on her, while Yinka is showered with desperate prayers in the hope of alleviating her singleton status!

The situation is not helped by the fact that Yinka's profound belief in her Christian faith has led her to save herself for marriage, because this sits about as well with her non-Nigerian friends as her (unintentionally) single lifestyle does with her Nigerian relatives. Caught in the crossfire of conflicting values and priorities, Yinka doesn't quite fit in either of her two worlds.

When her cousin Rachel decides to get married, the news precipitates a frenzy of prayer among Yinka's family and her church community wrt her marriage prospects, even as it starts to make her feel increasingly desperate about having a date to take to Rachel's wedding.

Unsurprisingly, this leads to some seriously bad dating decisions, and the whole thing comes close to sending Yinka over the edge.

The novel also draws attention to some serious issues (colourism, pressure to marry and have children, self-worth, security vs passion etc), but the author handles most matters with a light touch.

In the end, this story is about learning to accept yourself and make decisions that are right for you. So as readers, we experience the journey of how Yinka comes to terms with that, rather than her success in landing a "huzband" in order to win the approval of others.

The novel deals - albeit with a great deal of humour - with issues that are very real in the lives of women of a certain age. And it will resonate with many, like myself, who have grown up in
Asian cultures that also tend to be preoccupied with matters of marriage - not to mention the primal need to match up any lingering singletons.

It is hard not to feel for Yinka, caught between cultures, and trapped by her own high moral standards. But it is both a relief and a pleasure to see how the character develops over the course of the narrative. Many of the supporting characters were also brought vividly to life, including Yinka's Aunty Blessing (who lived up to her name), Aunty Debby (who was indeed a downer), her father, whom she lost early in life, and her friend Nana, who brings an interesting dimension into the book.

The Nigerian culture aspect of the story was a gift that kept giving, and I expect to see more entertaining writing from Blackburn that mines this rich cultural heritage for what is likely to be an endless supply of humour and drama.

This is absolutely not your average romance! It’s a book about important topics like self-love, colourism, grief and defining your own success. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a refreshing, moving and hilarious read. Excited about its paperback release!

Yinka wants to find love. Her mum wants to find it for her.

How can Yinka find a husband when she is surrounded by her aunties who frequently pray for her delivery from singledom, has a preference for chicken and chips over traditional Nigerian food, and a bum she’s sure is far too small as a result? Oh, and the fact that she is a thirty-one-year-old South Londoner who doesn’t believe in sex before marriage is a bit of an obstacle too.
When Yinka's cousin gets engaged, she commences an ‘operation to find a date for Rachel's wedding’. Will Yinka find herself a huzband? Or what if the thing she really needs to find is herself?

4 stars!!
I thought it was gonna be a cute rom-com/ romance book where Yinka finds herself a man for her cousin's wedding, but it's not in the way I thought it was going to go, but regardless I really enjoyed and loved it !!! I really liked the writing style and how we can see things that Yinka was searching on the internet, idk I felt more connected to her thoughts in a way.
I loved seeing Yinka navigate and trying to figure out what she really needed and discovering herself, yes at times Yinka did make me roll my eyes at her because what are you doing???
It also talks about some very important themes/issues such as family, colourism, and cultural pressures.

Can't wait to read more from this author and I would definitely recommend this book!!

Yinka is sick and tired of her Nigerian family constantly praying (yes, literally praying) about her lack of huzband. And so she sets herself a goal: to find a date to her sister's wedding. Surely it can't be that hard, right?

Although this has a light premise, the book is elevated by exploring the concept of singledom and partnership through the lens of Yinka's Nigerian cultural heritage as well as her upbringing as a black woman in Britain. And so while comparisons to Bridget Jones' Diary are apt, it was nice to get a fresh perspective on the pressures placed on women from a non-white point of view. The novel also delivers the narrative with great humour, and a great supporting cast who felt interesting in their own right.

There are areas of the novel that I wish were a little more in depth as I think this novel was perfectly positioned to explore these - the fear of being alone, the value placed on women who are wives and mothers as opposed to those who aren't - but I appreciate that given the fast-paced and humorous tone of the novel, this might not have worked with the overall style of the narrative.

Throughout, although you sometimes wish Yinka would make different choices, you can't help but want the best of her. There were moments when I wanted to shake her, and others when I was cringing on her behalf. But to me that is a sign of an interesting protagonist and overall I found the story really engaging and easy to immerse myself in.

Also, what an amazing title, right?

Absolutely LOVED this book. Yinka is such a wonderful character and this story was a refreshing addition to the romance genre. I loved the way religion was explored within dating and the way the whole story was resolved. Can't wait for my books by this author.

This was very well written and I liked the invite into Nigerian life and family structure. I didn’t really like the main character and found her irritating at times. She didn’t need anyone sabotaging her life as she did a great job on her own.

Yinka's search for a date for a wedding to ease the familial pressure to get a husband is a fresh take on a well known trope and her anxiety to be what her loved ones expect is very relatable. This would make a great rom-com for a movie or series.

This is a novel about finding the person you are and loving that person, no matter what.

Yinka is constantly being told by her British Nigerian family that she needs to get herself a 'huzband' when that's the last thing she is looking for. Until, that is, she is made redundant from her banking job.

Wanting to come across as vibrant and sassy, Yinka is inwardly insecure. She avoids difficult conversations, embarrassed about being paraded as a single woman when her younger sister is already married and pregnant.

Yinka thinks she has to reinvent herself as she strives to find her ideal man in time for her cousin Rachel's wedding, when all she really needs to do is find herself.

Her search leads Yinka to places she doesn't want to go and conversations she would prefer not to have, until the penny drops and she accepts what her best friend Nana has been telling her all along.

I enjoyed this book and found myself rooting for Yinka, willing her to ditch the props and trust her own judgement. Which she eventually does do, of course.

This is an uplifting read from an author that is new to me. The characters were all relatable and I particularly loved Nana.

I received a digital ARC of this book from Penguin General UK, in return for an honest appraisal.

“Yinka, where is your huzband?” isn’t just a snappy title, it’s the refrain of Yinka’s life. As her married sister’s due date gets closer and her cousin announces her engagement, all the aunties in Peckham turn their prayers to Yinka and the pressure is on!

Yinka, a British-Nigerian, early thirties, Oxford graduate, who, after a shattering break up, has been single for two years, concocts: Operation Wedding Date. A plan to land herself a man in time for the wedding, but will she stay true to her beliefs on her search for love?

‘Yinka, Where is your Huzband?’ is a stunningly relatable debut novel. Yinka joins literary heroines such as Bridget Jones and Candice Carty-Williams’ Queenie in the lovable pantheon of dodgy dates, cringe worthy encounters, and the endurance of sisterhood and self worth. The plot is mainly driven by Yinka's actions, some of which most millennial women will empathise with, and I enjoyed the levels of personal growth and journeys that the main cast go through - singularly and as a family/friendship unit. Blackburn is certainly an author I'd keep an eye out for in the future, and I dearly look forward to her next novel. A hearty four out of five stars, and rated 4 on StoryGraph and Goodreads, I will be posting a review to Twitter and Instagram. Thank you very much to NetGalley, Penguin, and Viking for the EPUB.

Yinka, Where is your Huzband is on sale now.

I mostly enjoyed this book and particularly appreciated the way Yinka’s faith was so naturally woven into the plot. I enjoyed the humour and the insight into Nigerian culture. My only complaint was it felt a bit too long - a bit of editing would have helped as I felt it dragged on a bit. A solid 3.5 stars.

What a joy to read this book.
I was fully invested in this book , such a lovely warm fun read ,loved the main character and the comedy that came with it as well.Loved the writing of the culture as well,would highly recommend to any reader.
5* plus for me

I enjoyed aspects of this, but overall was left wanting. Will absolutely read Blackburn's next book, as I think I'll connect better with a future title.

Reasonably well written and believable characters but the subject matter was not of interest to me. I'm interested to read about the experiences of characters from other races, and frequently do, but I lost all interest in the religious aspects of the book. Perfect for readers with a strong faith but not for me.

The concept of this one sounded fun and full of frolics and it was. I loved reading it and the brightly coloured jacket makes it a perfect one to read at the beach

This was fun and easy to read. I didn’t fully connect t to the characters but might have been my mood at the time